Skydive

Falling from 3600 metres at 220 kilometres an hour might sound a
strange thing to do if you are afraid of heights.

Not if you are Phil James. Standing near the edge of a cliff
makes him queasy, as does the thought of sitting at the top of a
ferris wheel, yet he has no problem jumping out of aeroplanes.

"It's so high you have no perception of how high it is. It's
like looking at a patchwork quilt," he says of aerial views.

The first time James went skydiving, which he now does every few
weeks, was in 1993.

"I went straight into the accelerated free fall. You do a
full-day of ground training. They teach you how to save your life,
how you pull the rip cord, about flying the canopy ..."

Two instructors escorted him on his first jump. "The instructors
are holding you to help you fall out of the plane in a stable
position. If you are not in a nice symmetrical position you will
turn and tumble."

He was so nervous he doesn't remember leaving the aircraft.
"It's sensory overload. I think I had my first conscious
recollection after about six seconds into the jump."

James keeps doing it for the sheer joy of falling. "[Once the
parachute opens] it's so peaceful after the noise of the free
fall."

Once he lands, he feels immensely satisfied. "You think, hang
on, that wasn't that scary."

EXPERT VIEW
Dr Adam Guastella, psychologist, University of NSW:

Guastella says fear is a natural human experience that sometimes
is inconsistent.

"People in treatment trials present on national television or
regularly speak in front of hundreds, but put them in a situation
where they have to meet new people, they feel anxious and seek
treatment."

Guastella says that, in terms of context, jumping out of a plane
for James is not as scary as standing near the edge of a cliff
because he knows the process.

"The first time ... he would have been anxious," he says, now
James has become accustomed to "this specific situation".

Guastella says some people will overcome fear "for the thrill of
the moment ... There is a certain personality that likes high-risk
activities."